LONGSTANTON GRASSHOPPERS CRICKET CLUB Report for the Longstanton Parish Council Annual Meeting 25 April 2016

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1 LONGSTANTON GRASSHOPPERS CRICKET CLUB Report for the Longstanton Parish Council Annual Meeting 25 April 2016 I. Highlights of the 2015 season 1. First XI The first XI continued to improve and finished 5 th out of 12 in the league. We have hopes for the season to come with many returning players and Captain Toby Saunders having gained experience as a captain. 2. Second XI The second XI had 9 straight wins in a row and was promoted. We had a regular female player, which has encouraged us to do work on the changing rooms (see below). 3. Colts The Colts teams played well, with a good mix of experienced and new players, who all had an opportunity to be involved in training and playing matches. The Club funded a level 3 coach to supervise the entire coaching programme, and also provided qualified and experienced coaches for all the teams. These paid coaches were ably supported by volunteer parent helpers who had trained as coach support workers. We also had several U15s come to the Friday night training to help with the younger players. II. Recent activities 1. NatWest Cricket Force Every year dedicated volunteers from the Club spend an early spring weekend at the Rec preparing the pitches and equipment for the upcoming season. We get a special deal from Jewson s for purchasing the supplies needed to paint and renovate the sight screens, nets and square. This year one of our goals was to clear a space in the changing rooms that it could be available to female players, who had nowhere to change. This is in line with one of our Development Plan objectives of making the club more attractive to women and encouraging them to participate in cricket. Accordingly, we spent the day on Friday 1 April with mops, buckets, and bleach, clearing and cleaning the changing rooms and taking two loads of rubbish to the tip. Other club members spent the weekend rolling the wicket, putting up our new net, reassembling our freshly painted sight screens and putting up the renovated scoring box.

2 The ground always requires a great deal of care and maintenance and another of our Development Plan goals is to work with the Football Club and Parish Council to improve the outfield. One of our proposals is that the Football Club, Cricket Club and Parish Council all contribute an agreed amount to a grounds maintenance fund, which could then be used to gradually improve the quality and long term viability of the sports field area, under a 10-year maintenance plan. We hope to set up a User group meeting to discuss these and other joint issues. 2. New equipment A. Safety netting: In cooperation with the other User groups, the Club organised the purchase and installation of new safety netting, which protects the Bowls area from cricket and footballs. The Parish Council provided a grant of 500, and the Bowls, Football and Cricket Clubs all contributed approximately 350 each. B. New training net: We have purchased and installed a new practice net for the sum of approximately 500. It was felt the other net was becoming dangerous because holes had developed through long usage. The practice net is available to all members of the public when the Club is not using it and is a useful community resource. We take it down to protect it for the winter every year and put it back up in spring. C. New storage container: Working with the Football Club, we both purchased and installed new storage containers, which will enable both clubs to store our equipment safely and to access it more easily. These containers have been painted green at the request of the Parish Council. III. Plans for the 2016 season 1. Colts Training We hope to build on the success of last year s training, by continuing to fund qualified and experienced coaches for all age groups, and we expect approximately 50 to 60 young people to attend Friday night training. This year we will also provide a level 3 coach on Tuesdays, not only to train the U15s but also to help the U16s in their transition to the adult teams. This is also part of our development plan objectives, to encourage these young people to integrate into the adult teams safely and happily, and to retain their interest in cricket through their adult lives. We provide 11 Colts training sessions for 55 ( 50 for siblings), which at a cost of 5 per session is incredible value. All Colts also have the opportunity to play in matches, for which we do not charge match fees. All of the managers and helpers at matches are Club volunteers, without whose help we would not be able to continue running the Club. We enjoy providing this valuable service to the Longstanton community, and if you wish to see a well organised system with many happily occupied children, please come down to the Rec to watch the training on a Friday night. Outdoor training started on Friday 22 nd April and will continue (half term excepted) through Friday 8 th June. We plan to hold our traditional awards night and BBQ on Friday 15 th June. 2. Sunday friendlies

3 We have created a new Sunday friendly team, ably captained by Andrew George. This is also part of our development plan, as a way to encourage players who lack the confidence, experience, skills or time to play in the regular leagues on a Saturday. The goal is to create inclusive, friendly teams open to all ages, and also to encourage women to get involved at a level with less competitive pressure. 3. Sponsored shirts We would like to acknowledge the support of Cambridge Bathrooms, who sponsored our Colts shirts last year, and who have agreed to sponsor both Colts and adult shirts this year. We are very proud of this association, and proud to have all our team members turn out in matching kit for their matches. IV. Club Development Plan As part of our Club s Clubmark seal from the ECB, we have created a Club Development Plan, which helps us to plan our activities to meet our objectives and goals. I have attached a copy of the Club Development Plan to this report, and would be happy to answer any questions about the plan.

4 LONGSTANTON GRASSHOPPERS CRICKET CLUB CLUB DEVELOPMENT PLAN Mission Statement We aim to provide the highest quality cricket opportunities in a friendly, fair and safe environment, and to promote a lifelong enjoyment and involvement in the sport at any level. Club Aims and Objectives for I. Player development: 1. To develop our 14 to 16 year old players into adult team players by: Holding regular selection meetings with the adult team captains. Encouraging the adult team captains to participate in junior coaching sessions. Inviting suitable Colts members to participate in adult training sessions. Supporting Colts to become key members of the 2d XI through regular selection. Recruit a paid Level 3 coach to continue to train the U15s at Tuesday training. Overlap the Tuesday training with the adult training, to give younger players the opportunity to meet and train with the adults. B. Evaluation: The excellent training given by Level 3 coach Steve Taylor to the U15s helped boost their confidence to play in the adult teams. We found some of the adult team players reluctant to practice with the U15s because of the difference in size and strength, and this is something we will continue to work on next season. Many of the Colts played regularly for the 2d XI, and built up a good team ethos with the adult members. Ask Steve Taylor to continue to train both the U15s and U16s at Tuesday training. Continue to overlap the Tuesday training to encourage familiarity with adult team members and style of play, and encourage the older players to get to know the younger members of the squad. Invite and encourage the U16s players to attend the adult indoor nets. Set-up Sunday friendlies to ensure we are providing sufficent adult cricket for our junior members to participate in. 2. To provide more specialised training at all levels by: Hiring additional coaches to improve coaching sessions and provide specialist training. Assisting club volunteers to develop existing or new coaching skills through sponsoring relevant training courses and hands-on coaching oppportunities. Recruit Steve Taylor, Joe Uttridge and Kevin Scully (all level 3), Johnny Atkinson and Matt Childs (Level 2) to coach Colts at Friday training. Encourage parents to attend the coach support worker training.

5 Recruited 2 Australian volunteers via Johnny Atkinson (not sure of level, but excellent helpers), U15s players, parent helpers to support coaches at Friday night training. B. Evaluation: The Friday night training was incredibly successful. The training was well organised and supported by the paid coaches and numerous volunteers, all of whom increased their skill level through the experience. We now have three parent helpers who have attended the coach support worker training and will continue to help with the Friday night training. Continue to recruit paid coaches to provide a consistent standard of coaching and to lead training sessions for each individual age group. Recruit parents willing to attend coach support worker training. Continue to encourage U15s to help with Friday night training. Encourage adult team members to take coaching courses. 3. To develop ladies /girls cricket by: Starting a 3rd/Sunday friendly team and promoting it for less confident or experienced members. Encouraging age-group girls to play age-group cricket with the boys. We have a number of younger female players who continue to play and enjoy age group cricket. Katie Sperring played regularly for the 2nd XI. B. Evaluation: We have been lucky to have girls on the colts teams who are enjoying cricket, but we feel we would like to take more positive steps to encourage them, and importantly, to retain their interest in cricket as they move up through the age groups. Katie has been an outstanding example in the 2nd XI, but we want to work towards creating an even more positive and welcoming environment for all female players. Clear out, clean and paint the changing areas in the Pavilion, to make them more appealing to all players, but also to provide a suitable and welcoming changing area to female players. Work towards setting up Sunday friendlies in which less confident players can be encouraged to participate. II. Social and support 1. To recruit more volunteers by: Developing our website through regular review and feedback by the Committee. Promoting our club by communicating with the local community through Longstanton Life magazine, flyers, and participation in community fetes and events. Holding an open enrollment evening, with all committee members present, on the first night of Colts outdoor training. Offering assistance to club volunteers in developing existing or new skills through sponsoring relevant training courses. We provided a newsletter about the NatWest CricketForce day with photos and brief report to the Longstanton life magazine, which we also circulated within the club. B. Evaluation: We could not find the volunteers to participate in community fetes or events. We have been unable to find someone with relevant skills to develop the website. The newsletter worked very well and created good publicity, but should be done more regularly.

6 Set up a first aid training night for all club committee members, managers, coaches and volunteers to attend. Identify a named person who will be willing to develop the Play-cricket website. Continue to develop the use of a newsletter to publicise events we have participated in. 2. To encourage a social atmosphere among members (including Colts parents) by: Holding regular Quiz Nights to which all are invited. Organising a family golf day. Having Chinese/Indian meals out for all club members. Taking and displaying club photos and more effectively using the Club bulletin board. We held a quiz night in the autumn. Provided sponsored Club cricket shirts to both adult and colts teams, to encourage esprit de corps. B. Evaluation: More needs to be done in this area, but it always requires a willing volunteer to take the initiative and organise these events. The shirts were very successful. Hold quiz night in early spring Set up club bulletin board in the Pavilion. Consider other social events possibly a pre-season meal. Continue with provision of sponsored shirts. III. Environmental: 1. To redevelop our changing rooms by: Creating and actively participating in a Pavilion user group. Appointing a volunteer to lead the project. Re-instituted the user group meetings with the Parish Council. Came up with a plan for the clearing and refurbishing of the changing rooms. B. Evaluation: We have found it difficult to find a time when the other Rec users and the Parish Council can all meet together. We have found it difficult to get the Parish Council to respond to our requests for meetings. Our plan for the development of the changing rooms would require help from the Parish Council (in the form of providing a skip) and we have not had a response to our proposal. The whole matter of charges for the use of the Rec is also up in the air. Push with setting up a user group meeting in January so that we can finalise and implement our plan to refurbish the changing rooms. Monitor the progress of user group meetings and ensure they do not fall off the Parish Council s agenda. 2. To improve our outfield by: Creating and actively participating in a Pavilion user group. Encouraging participation in NatWest Cricket Force club improvement days. Enrolling in the CCB/Sport England ground outfield improvement pilot for Cambridgeshire. 3. To replace our artificial wicket We had a successful NatWest Cricket Force day.

7 We have now received a quote for replacing the artificial wicket. We are building a rapport with the Football Club to discuss use and maintenance of the outfield. We are in conversation with Melvin Pooley (ECB cricket grounds adviser) re the maintenance and improvement of the outfield. B. Evaluation: We were very pleased to receive the NatWest OSCA award as a result of our club s participation in the NatWest Cricket Force day. The continued good rapport with the Football Club should pay off in helping us to improve and maintain the outfield. We have been unable to make progress with the Parish Council regarding an agreement of who will pay or be responsible for the outfield, and of whether a proposed annual charge for use of the Rec will be used to help pay for the maintenance. Now that we have a quote for replacing the artificial wicket, we can seek a grant for this work, but must make sure that we find a way to protect the wicket from damage as part of this project. Continue to push for regular user group meetings where issues relating to the outfield can best be discussed and resolved. Seek a grant for refurbishment of the artificial wicket. Continue to work with the Football Club about improvement, maintenance and sharing of the outfield, in combination with discussions with Melvin Pooley. Appoint a fixtures secretary who can ensure that the ground is properly prepared for matches and not overused. IV. Economic: 1. To plan an annual budget: Form a finance subcommittee to set budget Formed a budget subcommittee which met several times. B. Evaluation: Although the finance committee met several times, it was difficult to set an annual budget as we did not have access to information about the club s finances. We had an unsuccessful appointment of a new Club Treasurer, and we were not able to resolve this situation until the end of the season, at which point we were able to recruit a new Treasurer. The budget subcommittee will meet several times to review the income and expenditure of the previous season and set a proposed budget for To develop a five-year plan regarding equipment and maintenance: Ask finance subcommittee to propose a plan Discuss plan in committee, and then with club members We obtained a partial grant to repair the safety nets, a full grant to cover the cost of a new equipment container (working with the Football Club and other users), and a grant to cover the cost of a ground protector and bell dryer. We have recruited a new Club chair, to start in November 2016, who has volunteered to help with obtaining other grants. B. Evaluation: We were successful in obtaining several pieces of equipment, but we are aware that we need to make a longer team plan of equipment that will be needed in the coming years. We are also aware that a longterm plan is needed for maintenance of the wickets and outfield to ensure that work put into is is effective. Include a five-year plan for equipment and maintenance as part of the budget subcommittee s discussions 3. To recruit a volunteer who will help with grant applications:

8 See recruiting volunteers (above) Two committee members have helped with completing grant applications over the past year. We have now recruited a new Club Chair to start in November 2015, who has agreed to help with grant applications. B. Evaluation: We are pleased with the success of our grant applications this year, but realise that a clearer longterm plan of the Club s needs for the next five years is essential to help with the longterm success of grant applications. Support the new Chair and other club members who are willing to complete grant applications. Develop a five-year plan and use it when applying for grants. V. Top five priorities for next five years: To ensure that our committee is representative of our club. To produce an annual budget to ensure we are in control of our finances and are sustainable in the future. To improve access to better outdoor facilities for our members. To improve access to better indoor facilities for our members. To increase the pool of players available to play regularly in the 1 st and 2d XI. A. Evaluation: We should discuss these priorities. Perhaps the number one priority at the moment is to ensure excellent coaching for the Youth Cricket teams. We feel we have achieved this goal in 2015, and it is from this success that the other objectives will follow. 1. To accomplish these priorities and achieve our Aims and Objectives, we will work on: Internal engagement with volunteers, committee members, parents of Colts, players, interested parties. External engagement with external coaches, other Pavilion users, Longstanton village and local government, the CCB, local cricket leagues, Hatton Park School, Swavesey Village College and the new village college in Northstowe. 2. We will make our decisions: At our monthly committee meetings, always guided by our Mission Statement. By keeping open and frequent two-way communication between members and the Committee. 3. We will earn income to accomplish our Club Aims and Objectives through: More effective collection of subscription and match fees by providing BACs transfer and direct debit options. Grants for equipment and facilities. Fundraisers. Advertisements in our fixture booklet. We will remember that we exist to benefit our Junior and Senior members, local schools and the greater community through youth coaching and competitions, adult training and competitions, sponsored training for Umpires/Coaches, school partnerships, participation in community fetes, support and maintenance of the Longstanton Rec.